Automatic trolling hook



March 12, 1935. J. BOYKO AUTOMATIC TROLLING noox Filed Oct. 25, 1934 v 7 INVENTOR.

W ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 12, 1935 v UNITED STATES;

1,294,168 g AUTOMATIC TROLLINGI-IOOK John Boyko, Hamtramick, Mich assignor of onehalf to WadahA. Koury, Detroit, Mich. I

Application October 25, 1934, Serial No 749,921

3 Claims. (01. 43-35) The object of my invention is.to produce a trolling hook for fishing that willautomatically release a pair of hidden spring hooks .instantl upon being seized by a fish.

'5 Another object is to produce an automatic trolling hook that will operate by outwardly ex A further object is to produce an automatic trolling hook that when set for trolling, no engaging 'hook or projection is exposedso as to engage or become entangled with weeds or other objects while in use. .1"

A still further .object isto' produce a "trolling hook that. willresemblea fish, or other object desired ffOI" bait, but thatlwill always retain its 7 upright natural. position while being drawn 20. through the water.y t

Another object is. to produce an automatic trolling hook that is simple inv construction; easily andefiiciently operated and can be man factured at a very. low cost. 7 a These several objects are attained in the pre ferred .form :by the construction and arrangement-of parts as more fully hereinafter set forth. Similar parts on the. drawing are marked by similar numeralsIor'letters. 1 1 i Fig. I is a' sideview of the assembled'trolling hook; showing the general. arrangement of the working parts. g Fig. 2 is atopview of the trolling hookshowing' the exterior contourof the wood and metal 35* body. vt o, i

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the trolling hook showingthedelative position of the operating members.

In general, my device comprises a body formed and colored to resemble some object suitable for fish bait, and is herein illustrated as the body of a fish. Beneath the body is mounted a pair of outwardly expanding spring hooks integral with each other fixedly attached to the head end of the body, the hooks being capable of being closed together and engaged inside the tail section of the body, but to be released automatically when seized by a fish, allowing the spring hooks to instantly expand and engage in the fish throat or mouth walls.

I will now describe more fully the detail construction of my device, referring to the drawing and the marks thereon.

The fish body 1 is preferably made of wood of some firm, strong fiber, but as light as possible for causing the trolling hook to readily float on the water. The outer contour of the bodyis formed to resemble as nearly as possible the body of some fish, and preferably paintedcorrespond ing colors. The bottom of the body'l is made 5 fiat, and retains thereon a metal'plate 2, preferably of I very thin, strong, light metal such as aluminum, or any other suitable metaLand is fixedly attached tothe body 1 by'the screws'3 and '4. The base plate 2 isformed with a-de pressed head section a and an approximately fiat tail section I), both. head and tail sections being designed to conform to the exterior lines of the fish body, the tail section bbeing extended to form a double tail fin c and is provided with an exterior rim flange at around the outer edge thereof. The head section a being slightly de pressed forms a thin chamber e therein', 'and is provided with edge recesses f and "a center recess o formed throughthe inside edge wall It. The head section a is also extended at the front edge by a small tab 6 which is provided-with a whole '7 suitable for'receiving thereinthe trolling line 8. -Within the chamber e of the depressed head section a is mounted the coiled end met the spring expanding hooks 9, and is securely attached therein-by the screw 4 which passes through both body 1 and base plate 2 and'engages the coil as shown in theFig. 1- of the drawing." The spring hooks 9 are preferably'made of a strong fine steel wire, coiled 'at the center for receiving the attaching screw 4 therein and withthe arms 11. extended on both sides having outwardly disposed hook ends 70 formed thereon, both hooks Ic terminating in sharp points Z. The arms n are extended through the edge recesses f of theinside edgewall'h of the head section d, and which retains the double spring hook arms in a plane parallel to and adjacent to the lower surface of the plate section .b, the hook arms n being capable of being depressed into the closed position beneath the plate 2, sufiiciently for the hook ends k to fall within the tail fin flanges d of the tail section 0 as shown in the Fig. 3 of the drawing, and engaging therewith for holding the double hooks in a fixed trolling position, the hook points Z being completely covered and protected. Mounted on the under side of the section b of the plate 2 near the tail end therer of, is a hinged trip bar 10, pivotally attached to the plate 2 by the hinge joint 11, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, but may be of any suitable structure. The trip bar 10 is preferably made of a thin, rigid metal sheet, formed with a short lever end 8 positioned to fit flat against the lower 501- 55 face of the plate 2 and beneath the hook ends 70 when said hooks are in their closed position as indicated in Fig. 3, the long lever arm t being curved away from the plate 2 on the opposite side of the hinge 11 and extended with its outer end projected through the center recess 9 of the wall h at the head section end. The lever end i being free to move within said recess 9 when pressed against the bottom plate 2, as indicated by the dottedlines t of Fig. 1, thus raising the short lever end s and also raising the hook ends 70 therewith, automatically releasing the double hook arms 12 which will instantly expand outwardly to the extended position as indicated by the dotted lines n as shown in Fig. 3.

In using my trolling hook, the double spring hook arms n are easily pressed together by seizing between the thumb and finger, and the hook ends k depressed within the tail fin flange d and the trolling hook is ready for casting. No hooks or engaging projections are exposed to engage weeds, or other objects while being drawn through the water The light'metal plate 2 acts as sufficient weight to retain the body section 1 in its upright natural position, guided by the tail fin 0, while the light wood body 1 will preventthe trolling hook from sinking beneath the surface of the water, and when properly made the object resembles an actual fish decoy, and as soon as the fish decoy body is seized by a live fish, the closing of the fish jaws over the decoy bodyl will instantly depress the trip bar 10 and release both the outwardly expanding spring hook arms n, the pointed hook sections 7c coming intodirect contact with the fish throat or mouthwalls, instantly pierces same and prevents any escape of the fish when once seized. The hooks may be easily released from the fish by againdepressing the hook arms together, as this type of trolling hook requires no point beards, the reaction of the outwardly expanding spring hooks being sufficient.

v While I have shown my trolling hook formed as a fishbody, it is to be understood that-any otherformwhich resembles any suitable fish bait may be used as Well, and that various modifications of --both shape and mechanical details may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I claim not only the design as hereinshown, but any other design that is sub stantially a substitution of parts herein shown. Having fully described my automatic trolling hook, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1, Atrolling hook for fishing, comprising abody member suitable for attachment to the end of a; trolling line, a pair of, outwardly expanding from the tail hook fiange when said trip lever is depressed and allowing said spring hooks to instantly expand outwardly.

2. A trolling hook for fishing, comprising a body member made of wood suitable for attachment to-the end of a trolling line, a metal plate mounted on the bottom of said body member and formed with a hook flange around the tail section thereof, a pair of outwardly expanding hooks mounted at the head end of said body, engaging the metal plate and positioned therein .to be closed beneath the body member, said hooks being positioned to engage the tail hookflange and to be retained therein in their closed position, and a trip lever pivotally mounted on said metal plate and positioned to engage the hook members in their closediposition and. disengage them from the said hook flange when the trip lever is depressed against the body member for allowing said expanding hooks to instantly spring outwardly when released.

- .3. A trolling hook for fishing, 'comprisinga wood body member formed to resemble a fish and provided with means for attaching the head end to a trolling line, a metal plate mounted along the bottomwside or said fish body and securely attached thereto, said metal plate being formed with a hooknfiange around the tail section thereof, a-pair V of outwardly; expanding spring hooks mounted at theheadend ofsaid fish body member, engaginglthe metal plate section and positioned tobe closedtogether beneath the fish body and completely'concealed thereby, said hook members engaging the tail hook flangefor retaining the hooks: therein in their closed position, and a trip lever pivotally mounted lengthwise of said metal plate capableofbeing depressed toward said fish body member and I I orm 'B'o o. 

